FIRE officers have urged motorists to be on their guard while driving on rural roads during the winter after a crash left two people in hospital.

Margaret Gillies, 48, of Pickhill, and Mark Harrison, 17, of Sutton Howgrave, North Yorkshire, were both stable last night in Northallerton's Friarage Hospital, after a head-on collision between two Ford Fiestas on Tuesday evening.

The accident happened near Kirklington, and both people had to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters. Mr Harrison had been a passenger in a car driven by 18-year-old Richard Simms, of Pickhill, who was not seriously injured.

Leading firefighter Keith Ward, of Masham fire crew, said: "We have had an excessive number of fatalities on the roads of North Yorkshire this year. The winter will make the roads worse, particularly the minor roads.